Buckeye council approves annexation, rezone and plan for 160‑acre mixed‑use development at Verrado Way and Yuma Road

The Buckeye City Council voted unanimously April 15 to approve a package of actions to allow a large mixed‑use development southwest of Verrado Way and Yuma Road.

Principal planner Mandy Woods told the council the application covers roughly 160–168 acres and includes three linked actions: annexation of the site into city limits, a minor amendment to the Imagine Buckeye general plan to reclassify about 45.9 acres from “neighborhood” to “business commerce,” and rezoning the property to a Planned Area Development (PAD) to guide future site‑level approvals.

Woods said the PAD’s land‑use map anticipates a mix of single‑family residential, multifamily, neighborhood‑serving commercial and a business‑park parcel. She said the PAD narrows allowed uses compared with county zoning to provide more predictability; for example, cross‑dock warehousing is specifically prohibited on the business‑park parcel and warehouse buildings are limited to 50,000 square feet unless a conditional‑use permit is approved. “The building height is limited to 50 feet in, Parcel F because it is following the base district,” Woods told the council.

Council members asked about transportation and school capacity. Acting city traffic engineer Dr. Anissa Gerard replied on the bridge and initial cost allocation: “it is, fee and lose situation,” adding that the applicant would pay its portion and surrounding properties would share the rest. On the larger intersection work, Jim Shano, the city’s PMO director, said the Yuma/Verrado intersection is already in the city’s capital‑improvements program and that the city holds fee‑in‑lieu funds for part of the work: “That intersection, we do have fee in lieu from the southeast corner of that intersection, and the rest of the intersection is ours to build.”

Woods said the PAD requires submittal and approval of site plans and subdivision plats before development, a master traffic‑impact analysis with the first site plan, and a phasing schedule of half‑street improvements so necessary road work will be completed as the site develops. She also said any early single‑family phase would need an assured‑water‑supply certificate under Arizona Department of Water Resources rules.

The Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended approval of the PAD and the related general‑plan amendment subject to conditions; no members of the public attended the required neighborhood meeting and staff reported no outstanding department issues. With those findings on the record, the council approved the annexation ordinance, the general‑plan amendment resolution and the PAD rezoning ordinance in separate votes, all carried unanimously.

What happens next: the developer must submit detailed site plans, plats and a traffic analysis, and the city will track infrastructure phasing described in the PAD conditions. Council members noted the approvals set the framework for future proposals but do not authorize specific buildings or site plans; those will come back for staff review and any required public hearings.

Votes at the meeting were unanimous on the three items affecting the Verrado/Yuma property; the council approved each action by voice vote.